Iranian soldiers captured by a Sunni extremist group near the Pakistani border in February have been freed.

The Al-Qaeda-affiliated Jaish-ul Adl (Army of Justice) announced the release on Twitter on April 4.

The Fars news agency quoted an unidentified Iranian security official as saying the captured soldiers were handed over by Jaish-ul Adl to Iranian representatives in Pakistan.

It is not clear how many of the five border guards were released after Jaish-ul Adl, which operates in southeastern Iran, claimed last month to have executed one of them.

Jaish-ul Adl has claimed several deadly attacks against Iranian officials and soldiers in the southeastern region of Sistani-Balochistan since taking up arms in 2012 to fight for what it says are the rights of Iran’s minority Sunni population.

Based on reporting by AP and AFP
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